Exopolysaccharide (EPS) is complex sugar made by many microbes in the Antarctic marine environment. This project seeks to understand the ecological role of microbial EPS in the Southern Ocean, where it is known to strongly influence primary production. We will investigate the chemical composition and structure of EPS obtained from Antarctic microbes, which will improve our knowledge of its ecological significance and biotechnological potential. Dataset includes the following: 1) Information on Exopolysaccharide-producing bacterial isolates, isolation sites, media used and growth conditions. 2) 16S rRNA gene sequence and fatty acid data of isolates for strain identification. 3) Exopolysaccharide chemistry data including EPS carbohydrate composition, organic acid composition, sulfate content, molecular weight. 4) Physiology of exopolysaccharide synthesis. Effects of temperature and other factors on EPS yield and glucose conversion efficiency. 5) Iron binding properties. The download file includes: 11 files File 1. Bacterial isolate 16S rRNA gene sequences obtained from Southern Ocean seawater or ice samples. The sequences are all deposited on the GenBank nucleotide (NCBI) database. Sequences are in FASTA format. File 2. Seawater and sea-ice sample information including sites samples, sample type. File 3. Data for exopolysaccharide (EPS)-producing bacteria isolated and subsequently selected for further studied. Information indicates special treatments used to obtain strains including plankton towing, filtration method, and enrichment. Identification to species level was determined by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. File 4. EPS-producing bacterial isolate fatty acid content determined using GC/MS procedures. File 5. Basic chemical data for EPS from Antarctic isolates including protein, sulfate, and sugar type relative content (determined by chemical procedures), molecular weight in kilodaltons and polydispersity (determined by gel-based molecular seiving). File 6 Monosaccharide unit composition determined by GC/MS of EPS from Antarctic isolates. File 7. Effect of temperature on culture viscosity and growth of EPS-producing bacterium Pseudoalteromonas sp. CAM025 as affected by temperature. File 8. Effect of temperature on EPS and cell yields and EPS synthesis efficiency (as indicated by glucose consumption) of EPS-producing bacterium Pseudoalteromonas sp. CAM025 as affected by temperature. File 9. Efficiency of copper and cadmium metal ion adsorption onto EPS from EPS-producing bacterium Pseudoalteromonas sp. CAM025. File 10. Phenotypic characteristics data for novel EPS-producing Antarctic strain CAM030. Represents type strain of Olleya marilimosa. File 11. Effect of temperature on chemical make up of EPS from EPS-producing bacterium Pseudoalteromonas sp. CAM025.

This work was completed as part of the SIPEX - Sea Ice Physics and Ecosystem eXperiment - voyage. September/October 2007. The work formed part of AAS (ASAC) projects 2337 and 2767. Aspects of krill (Euphausia superba), growth and condition during late winter-early spring off East Antarctica (110 - 130 degrees E) were investigated. We assessed diet and condition of larval and postlarval krill collected from open water and below the ice. Condition was assessed using lipid content, growth rates and digestive gland size; feeding history was assessed using fatty acid profiles and stomach content analysis; and a starvation study investigated the response of krill to long-term food deprivation. Potential food items were analysed for lipid and fatty acid composition. Fatty acid profiles and stomach content analysis revealed winter/early spring feeding strategies of both larval and adult krill. This work was completed as part of AAS (ASAC) project #2337

This dataset contains results from Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) surveys in the Southern Ocean. When the opportunity arises, zooplankton species, numbers and abundance data are recorded on a continuous basis as vessels steam through the area between Australia and Antarctica, including Heard and Macquarie Islands. Observations have been made since June 1990 and are ongoing. Obviously the observations are not continuous over the region with time. Many of the original SO-CPR logbooks from the various voyages have also been scanned, and are available via the Australian Antarctic Data Centre's Reports Register. Zooplankton have been identified to lowest possible taxon, usually species, and counted for each segment. For copepods, copepodites and for some species nauplii (e.g. Rhincalanus gigas) have been counted separately, and for euphausiids, naupliar, calyptopis and furcilia developmental stages are identified. The fields in this dataset are: Tow_number - the CPR tow number Ship_name - the name of the ship on which the tow was conducted Season - two-year Antarctic season based around the austral summer, e.g. '2000-01' runs from July 2000 to June 2001 Latitude - the decimal latitude of the segment sample Longitude - the decimal longitude of the segment sample Observation_date - UTC date and time of the segment sample in ISO8601 format (yyyy-mm-ddTHH:MMZ) Observation_date_year - the observation date year Observation_date_month - the observation date month Observation_date_day - the observation date day Observation_date_hour - the observation date hour Observation_date_minute - the observation date minute Observation_date_time_zone - the observation date time zone (0=UTC) Segment_number - the individual segment number within each tow Segment_length - the distance travelled by the CPR during this segment (nautical miles). This is the true segment length as used in the Geocoding program used to cut the silk, and to calculate positions and average environmental data for each segment. In theory, all segments are 5 nautical miles long. However, this wasn't always the case with early Aurora Australis tows, where it was assumed that each marked segment was 5 nautical miles whereas each tow had subtle variations in silk advancement, depending on the wear of the cassette or travel with or against a current. True segment length has since been recalculated. At other times, some silks have been incorrectly cut and the true length has again been recalculated. The last segment of each tow may be less than 5 nautical miles. This field can be used to standardise species counts to say 5 nautical miles or to a theoretical volume filtered by multiplying the distance travelled by aperture area (12.7 x 12.7 mm): Volume Filtered = Distance (n miles) x 1852 metres x 0.0127^2. A 5 nautical mile segment theoretically represents 1.49 m^3. Total_abundance - total count of all zooplankton in a segment Phytoplankton_colour_index - visual estimation of the green colour of the silk mesh. Values are 'No Colour', 'Very Pale Green', 'Pale Green', or 'Green'. This colouration is due to the green chlorophyll pigments derived from chloroplasts of intact and broken cells and small unarmoured flagellates. It may provide an indicator of phytoplankton standing stock, although in the Southern Ocean there are some diatoms that are quite common on the silks but as they have very low amounts of chlorophyll the colour doesn't register in the PCI analysis. Fluorescence - water fluoresence measured by the vessel, averaged for the segment (arbitrary units). See Quality notes for more information. Salinity - water salinity measured by the vessel, averaged for the segment (psu). See Quality notes for more information. Water_temperature - water temperature measured by the vessel (degrees Celsius). See Quality notes for more information. Photosynthetically_active_radiation - photosynthetically active radiation measured by the vessel (micro-Einsteins m-2 s-1). This is not available on some vessels but has been included as a useful parameter to help differentiate data from night and day. The remaining fields ('Abylidae' through to 'Vibilia_sp') are zooplankton taxon names. The entries in these columns are the counts of each taxon in the segment.

This data represents the total collection of acoustic, underway and satellite data collected on voyage 2 of the Aurora Australis in the 2003-04 season. For online access to the underway data for voyage 2 2003-04, see its specific metadata record, or the marine science database. The Acoustics data (ADCP) are in SIMRAD EK64 format (binary), and the echoview software is required to read them. The Underway data are in ASCII format. The Satellite Images are in TERASCAN format, and TERASCAN software is required to read them.

Sediment Recruitment Experiment 4 (SRE4) was a large, long term (5 year) field experiment run at Casey Station (from 2001 to 2006) testing the effects of 4 different hydrocarbons on marine sediment ecosystems. Four different types of hydrocarbons were individually mixed with defaunated marine sediments and deployed in trays on the seabed at O'Brien Bay-1. Trays were collected after deployment periods of 5 weeks, 56 weeks (one year), 62 weeks, 2 years and 5 years. In addition there was a bioturbation treatment using the burrowing urchin Abatus (at 56 weeks only). Samples were collected from 4 replicate trays of each treatment at each sampling time. Analyses were done of sediment hydrocarbon chemistry, microbial communities, meiofaunal communities, macrofaunal communities and diatom communities. The hydrocarbon treatments were: a synthetic Mobil lubricating oil; the same Mobil lubricating oil after 125 hours use in a vehicle engine; a Fuchs synthetic lubricating oil marketed as highly biodegradable; and Special Antarctic Blend diesel fuel (SAB). A control uncontaminated sediment treatment was used for comparison. A randomised block design was used with a tray of each treatment in 24 blocks (5 trays per block). Four blocks were sampled at each time (4 trays of each treatment). Meiofauna Two replicate cores were taken from each tray at each time. Copepods were identified to family. Nematodes were identified to genus. Data is from one, two and five years of the experiment. At one year there is only one replicate per tray for copepod data (a total of 4 replicates per treatment).

Ship-based observations of whales sightings from the original 'ANARE Whale Log' books have been recovered into a single repository of sightings. ANARE (Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions) is the historic acronym for these voyages. Currently there are data from 4 voyages, from the 1990's. Further data will be entered from existing Whale log datasheets on an ongoing basis. Observing platforms currently only include the ship, Aurora Australis. The quality and quantity of abiotic data associated with observations such as air temperature, sea ice cover etc vary immensely from voyage to voyage. Where possible these data have been entered. This dataset contains no information on estimates of survey effort and cannot be used to derive useful presence/absence spatial coverages of species during this period. It is purely sighting data only. Species distribution data are made available to SCAR-MarBIN (http://www.scarmarbin.be), OBIS and GBIF via the DiGIR protocol and Darwin Core schema.

The Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML) Project Archive is a collection of scanned documents, maps, videos, and other related material that comprise the organisation and management documentation associated with a major research project of international significance. CAML measured the distribution and abundance of life in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica so that future impacts of climate change and human activities can be better understood. CAML coordinated the largest-ever survey of the Southern Ocean with 18 voyages in Antarctic waters, and inventoried over 16,000 marine species with hundreds new to science, provided DNA barcodes for 1,500 species, and has so far produced more than 600 scientific publications. CAML is a key activity of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR); a subproject of the Census of Marine Life (CoML); and was a major initiative of the 2007-2009 International Polar Year (IPY).

This data set contains concentrations of phytoplankton, protozoa, total bacteria and metabolically active bacteria assessed by flow cytometry on transects 12, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 of the BROKE-West survey of the Southern Ocean between January and March 2006. Only total bacterial concentrations were assessed for transect 11. Between 4 and 12 depths were sampled for marine microbes and concentrations were assessed using FACScan flowcytometer. Phytoplankton were identified and counted based on the autofluorescense of chlorophyll a when excited by the 488 nm laser of the FACScan. Protozoa were identified and counted after staining with the acid vacuole stain Lysotracker Green. Total bacteria were identified and counted using the cell permeant SYTO 13 nucleic stain. Metabolically active bacteria were identified and counted after staining for intracellular esterases with the esterase stain 6CFDA. The fields in this dataset are: Latitude Longitude Transect Number CTD number, flow file Depth (m) Total bacteria (per millilitre) Active bacteria (per millilitre) Dead bacteria (per millilitre) Protozoa (per millilitre) Phytoplankton (per millilitre) This work was completed as part of ASAC project 40 (ASAC_40).

Untreated, macerated wastewater effluent has been discharged to the sea at Davis Station since 2005, when the old wastewater treatment infrastructure was removed. This environmental assessment was instigated to guide the choice of the most suitable wastewater treatment facility at Davis. The assessment will support decisions that enable Australia to meet the standards set for the discharge of wastewaters in Antarctica in national legislation (Waste Management Regulations of the Antarctic Treaty Environmental Protection Act - ATEP) and to meet international commitments (the Madrid Protocol) and to meet Australia's aspirations to be a leader in Antarctic environmental protection. The overall objective was to provide environmental information in support of an operational infrastructure project to upgrade wastewater treatment at Davis. This information is required to ensure that the upgrade satisfies national legislation (ATEP/Waste Management Regulations), international commitments (the Madrid Protocol) and maintain the AAD's status as an international leader in environmental management. The specific objectives were to: 1. Wastewater properties: Determine the properties of discharged wastewater (contaminant levels, toxicity, microbiological hazards) as the basis for recommendations on the required level of treatment and provide further consideration of what might constitute adequate dilution and dispersal for discharge to the nearshore marine environment 2. Dispersal and dilution characteristics of marine environment: Assess the dispersing characteristics of the immediate nearshore marine environment in the vicinity of Davis Station to determine whether conditions at the existing site of effluent discharge are adequate to meet the ATEP requirement of initial dilution and rapid dispersal. 3. Environmental impacts: Describe the nature and extent of impacts to the marine environment associated with present wastewater discharge practices at Davis and determine whether wastewater discharge practices have adversely affected the local environment. 4. Evaluate treatment options: Evaluate the different levels of treatment required to mitigate and/or prevent various environmental impacts and reduce environmental risks.

This dataset contains locations of sampling sites for ASAC project 40 on rotation 4 of the French polar supply ship L'Astrolabe in the 2008/2009 season. Samples were collected between February and March of 2009. It also contains information on chlorophyll, carotenoids, coccolithophorids and species identification and counts. Public Summary from the project: ... This program aims to determine the role of single celled plants, animals, bacteria and viruses in Antarctic waters. We quantify their vital role as food for other organisms, their potential influence in moderating global climate change through absorption of CO2 and production of DMS, and determine their response to effect of climate change. For more information, see the other metadata records related to ASAC project 40 (ASAC_40). The fields in this dataset are: Tube Label Date (UTC) Time (UTC) Latitude Longitude Sea Temperature Ice (Presence or Absence) Coccolithophorid sample (yes or no) Plankton Net Sample Chlorophyll a (micro grams per litre)